The Great Sending, Chapter 11

The King sent his servants to call those who were invited… they would not come.
– Matthew 22:3

STUDY 11: Come to the Wedding

pp. 88-90

Scripture: Matthew 22:1-4; Luke 14:15-24; Revelations 19:6-9

by Reverand Dr. David Buegler

Have you noticed in the first chapter of John’s gospel the use of what has become known as “come-and-see” invitational evangelism? “Come and see,” Jesus says to the disciples who asked Him where He was staying (v. 39). “Come and see,” Philip says when Nathanael asks him if anything good can come out of Nazareth (v. 46).

Most often the strategy for effective mission work is not God sending lightning down and dragging people into the kingdom. Rather, we see God at work in the still, small voice of invitation (“Come to me…” Matthew 11:28). We have a picture of the Lord as a Good Shepherd calling and leading His flock (“My sheep hear
my voice… and they follow me,” John 10:27).

However, God’s gentle invitation is naturally rejected by the sinful nature of lost humanity. In the Scriptures we have accounts that speak to Christ’s disciples in mission regarding those who do not RSVP. In the invitation to the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22, those who were invited first go off to their worldly pursuits. Even worse, they kill the servants who delivered the King’s invitation. The servants who are left are sent out into the streets to gather anyone who would come to the feast, including one who comes with the wrong garment. This parable told during Holy Week reveals much about the heart of God and the role of missional invitation.

Luke Chapter 14 tells a similar story of a man giving a Great Banquet. One after another of the people invited turn down the invitation with excuses. The man in the parable becomes angry. He commands his servant to go out into the streets and alleys and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. Even when all of these people come, there is room for more. The man wants his banquet hall full.

The account in Revelation 19 encourages the Church of Jesus Christ (His Bride) to sit at the marriage supper of the Lamb which has no end. As Christ’s servants in all generations are sent to be in mission, we must remember the call, the Good Shepherd’s voice, the invitation of grace given by the Holy Spirit of the living God (see Luther’s explanation to the third article). And when that call, voice, and invitation are rejected, the Bride of Christ is sent into the highways and byways of this fallen world – because Jesus wants every seat at His heavenly banquet filled.

This mission has eternal consequences.

Questions to ponder with
yourself and others

• Discuss the difference between an invitation of grace and a lightning bolt of judgement. Why does the Good Shepherd’s voice call the sheep to follow rather than whipping and driving them under duress into the sheep pen?
• Many people want to delay or deny the invitation to sit at the salvation table. What are some of the modern-day excuses they use?
• The Bridegroom wants every seat at the heavenly banquet filled. What does it mean that the work of the Church has “eternal consequences?” Does the Church too often think only of temporal work and temporal consequences?

YesterdayTomorrow

Last WeekNext Week